Now that I've made it through a significant amount of what the game has to offer and three parts of journaling,
I can now give thoughts on the Pokemon I primarily used for my party.
Also, I'll have some things to say about a few of the other characters caught during the save.
I chose Cyndaquil for my first playthrough and kept picking it as a result.
Up until Kanto, Sync III definitely followed the overleveled starter stereotype.
Not a problem in my mind.
Interestingly, now that I'm looking back at this, Fire-types in Johto are really strong in the early game but seem to be not as big of a deal after a certain point (probably the Ice-type gym).
That, or I'm just remembering it differently than what actually happened.
Either way, my opinion on Cyndaquil, Quilava, and Typhlosion hasn't changed much, if at all.
Verdict: Still Typhlosion. Still awesome.
I cannot believe I didn't try using this Pokemon sooner.
Peep went from being a choice I made to try something new, to being a great support, to eventually end up as one of the three most used Pokemon in my party.
I think she actually became my favorite individual 'mon of the save.
However, Ampharos has yet to dethrone Togetic as my favorite species.
That may be too tall an order to fill.
She also did spectacularly in the Battle Tower, even among the Pokemon that were edited into save files specifically for the purpose of winning Battle Tower.
I will now think very highly of any Pokemon from the Mareep line.
Verdict: Can't beat the sheep!
Super! He's a Quagsire! Always a good choice and a welcome addition!
Verdict: Hell Yeah!
Before this, Rattata and Raticate were Pokemon I didn't have any real opinion about.
They just seemed kind of generic and, because they were generally early-game catches, I felt no real incentive to try unironically slotting one into my team.
This time around, I decided to do so as part of my branching out on selections.
Surprisingly, I now actually like Raticate.
Unfortunately, I think it's kind of an ugly Pokemon, but with a good configuration of moves that lets it hold its own.
Ramelia ended up as a partial HM-haver, but she was also really helpful in the early stages of the game.
Later on, I didn't end up using her as much, but I was still impressed not only by how much my opinion changed, but that the change was positive.
I can say with certainty that Ramelia proved herself to be more than just A Rat!
Verdict: Eye-Opening
I wanted to use him more frequently than I actually did.
It would make me a bit sad, but part of this was self-inflicted.
Gemini could have learned a few moves that would have helped him have a more defined role, but as it stands, I couldn't bring myself to have him unlearn Metronome.
That move is just too damn fun to have around. Maybe that's what I like most about Togetic.
I remember having a lot of fun back in 2010 using Metronome and Extrasensory on wild Pokemon early in the game.
I will temporarily aside my overwhelmingly favorable opinion of Togetics and admit that they don't hit particularly hard and they aren't durable.
God damn, why did Generation 2 have to be the one with the quote about "strong" and "weak" Pokemon just being selfish perceptions?
It's a great message that's completely undermined by a list of additions that are generally not the strongest,
a wacky level curve, and the most efficient strategy for beating the game being one Pokemon that is much stronger than the opposition.
Anyway, Togetic makes me happy and Gemini was certainly no exception to that.
Verdict: Still my favorite.
I pretty much never trained Gorb up enough to be a highly valuable member of the team.
His laying of Curses on particularly loathesome foes was situational, but extremely helpful at times.
Basically, I never did him justice and there's no one to blame but myself.
Verdict: I'm sorry.
While I only used him in battle a few times, he did a lot of flying around for me, and that deserves recognition.
Personal flights are no small thing, and I'm sure the prices of private jets and flights reflect that.
Verdict: Fly Guy
I hacked her in specifically for the Battle Tower, making me unwilling to give her a nickname or use her outside the Tower due to her hacked nature.
Likely as a result of this being my first completely hacked Pokemon, it feels cool to have her around.
I don't think it would feel as special if I hacked in another one.
Verdict: Ten out of ten, would use Scizor again.
While I'm here, might as well give more recognition to the three Pokemon I cloned from my original save into this one.
Having Sync, Queen Kong, and Tops join in for parts of this journey in what feels like
a mix of long-unseen legends arising to fulfill a prophecy and seeing friends for the first time in years was almost indescribable.
I am extremely fortunate to still have these after all this time.
Verdict: Never delete anything, ever.